7 Easy Ways to Automate Your Computer Tasks

Anyone who spends their whole day on the computer knows that doing the same repetitive tasks gets old very quickly. Given the power of computers, there has to be a way to cut at least a few corners and make your work life that much easier.

If you’re trying to speed up your productivity, you might be in need of automation. Automating your daily tasks will change your work life, and you can start today.

Check out these easy ways you can automate your computer tasks. Spend a few minutes learning about a new program that will help your work get done and your task list will never be the same.

1. Search for Specific Words

If you spend enough time in lengthy documents, you’ll find yourself going back over them for a certain phrase or page. You might only remember a few words, and it can take a long time to skim back over the entire document to find what you need.

Automate your searches by pressing Control and F (Command and F for Mac users). A search box will appear and you can look for exactly what you need within your document.

Try this out during your next task. It’ll help you sift through notes and documents so you get the most out of your time.

2. Abbreviate Your Sentences

Typing the same phrases over and over can make your hands cramp up with exhaustion. At some point, you may even get frustrated that the computer isn’t picking up on your common phrases.

When you use a program like PhraseExpress, your computer can do just that. It walks users through an easy step by step process where you type in your most common phrases and then set abbreviations for it. The program will remember those abbreviations and expand them automatically in your future documents.

If you commonly type the phrase, “for your consideration,” you could abbreviate it to “fyc.” You’d never need to type the full phrase again, as long as you used a program like PhraseExpress.

3. Schedule Your Social Media

Posting regularly on social media for your job means that you’re probably living day to day. You might set alarms and notifications to remember what posts to make at which times, but you don’t need to waste your day chasing after each post.

Instead, trust programs like Hootsuite. Hootsuite allows you to schedule your social media posts ahead of time, so you can plan weeks in advance. Never post another thing in a last minute rush. Spend your time getting ahead of schedule or doing other things you’d rather focus on.

4. Manage Your Budget

Every month is a little different from the last, so you may have found that recently your life has become busier. It’s a pain to put everything on hold so you can get a handle on your budget.

Automating your bills could be all it takes to make your time-consuming budget a thing of the past. Contact the companies of the bills you pay to see if there’s a way to sign up for automatic withdrawal. Afterwards, you’ll only have to spend a few minutes at the beginning of the month or of each week to work out your budget and then you’re free until the next budgeting session.

5. Delete Your Old Files

Ever notice that your computer can slow down? It might be caused by the old files that have been saved on it over the years.

Unless you’re super into computers, you may not have deleted old files in a while. It’s easy to forget about them, especially if you’re busy making and working in new ones.

Never struggle with a slowed down computer again with programs like SecureClean. This program uses the same tech that the government uses to wipe files permanently off your hard drive. That means all your data will be wiped clean, giving your computer a fresh start. This is an especially useful program for those who work with confidential documents that are nervous about deleting them because they aren’t sure if the documents would actually be deleted.

6. Rename Bulk Files Instantly

Do you find yourself renaming files more often than not? People who work with audio files on a regular basis know the feeling of dread when you have to start renaming files all over again.

Bulk Rename Utility takes care of this for you. Get through the files you need to work with and then use the program to rename them all at once. You’ll never have to switch between files and programs again once you start easily converting file names with this automating tool.

7. Convert Media Files at Once

Another struggle that people often have when they work with media files is figuring out how to convert them. You may need to convert the file to listen to it in the first place, or you have to convert it so someone on a different platform can listen.

There are many reasons for converting files, and automating is the easy way to handle all of them.

Format Factory was made specifically with audio and video files in mind. You can convert these two digital formats into different versions at the touch of a button. You can also download or upload information from CDs, so there never has to be a broken link in your work life communication because CDs are still in use.

Start With Something Small

The key to getting comfortable with automation is to start small. If you try to speed up your biggest tasks and don’t completely understand it, it will be much more frustrating than it’s meant to be.

Start your automating experience by considering what your smaller repetitive tasks are. Working with programs that expand your abbreviations or schedule your social media posts is a good place to begin.

After you get more comfortable, you’ll feel more confident about experimenting with other bigger programs. Give yourself time to learn and automating your tasks could change your entire work life.